U.S. Retail Sales Up 5% in June

Retail and food services sales in the United States totaled $422.8 billion in June, a 5 percent increase over the same period in 2012, according to the Census Bureau.

The figure also marks a 0.4 percent improvement from May.

Sales of clothing and clothing accessories, the category that includes jewelry, rose 0.7 from May, and 4.8 percent from the prior year.

The National Retail Federation found similar numbers in its monthly tally, reporting that June retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) increased 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from May, and 3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

In a statement, NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz added that “with employment and consumer confidence improving, we expect that the second half will be better than the first.”

“U.S. households have adjusted their spending to a slow-growth economy,” he said.